Evolution of high-speed image sensors

Abstract

The first digital high-speed video camera was developed in 1989. Since then, the highest frame rate has exponentially increased from about 103 fps (frames per second) to 108 fps, and will reach 109-1010 fps in the very near future. The evolution has been supported by successive innovations of the technology: (1) in the middle of the 1980s, solid-state image sensors enabling parallel and partial readout were introduced, (2) in 1989, a continuous-readout digital-recording high-speed video camera was developed, (3) 1996, a burst image sensor with in-pixel SPS-CCD storage was invented, (4) in 2002, a burst image sensor with in-pixel slanted linear CCD storage achieved 1 × 106 fps (1 Mfps), (5) in 2011, a backside-illuminated burst image sensor significantly increased the sensitivity and also the frame rate to 16 Mfps, (6) in 2012, a CMOS burst image sensor with the pixel-based storage in the periphery of the chip was developed, (7) in 2015, a macro-pixel multi-framing image sensor achieved a frame interval of 5 ns (200 Mfps), and, (8) currently, the 3D-stacking technology is further increasing the frame rates. The history is reviewed with descriptions of the epoch-making achievements in each stage and works going on. When the spatial resolution of lenses approached the limit, Rayleigh discussed the theoretical spatial resolution limit. It's time to search for the temporal resolution limit of high-speed image sensors. The limit for the silicon image sensors was theoretically derived. For example, the temporal resolution limit for green light of 550 nm is 11.1 ps. Therefore, the theoretical highest frame rate is about 1011 fps.